CHIGWELL

Chigwell lies in the south-west corner of Ongar
hundred, on both banks of the Roding, at a distance of
12 miles from London. (fn. 1) The ancient parish had an
area of 5,009 acres. (fn. 2) It contained three distinct sections.
The village of Chigwell, on the east side of the Roding,
was the main settlement and included the parish
church. Chigwell Row, a mile south of the village, was
a roadside hamlet on the edge of Hainault Forest. The
third section was Buckhurst Hill, 1½ mile from the
village on the west bank of the river. Until the 19th
century much of Buckhurst Hill was within Epping
Forest and there were only a few scattered houses in
that part of the parish before the modern development
took place. The soil of the parish is mainly London
Clay, but there are thin patches of glacial gravel in and
around Chigwell village and smaller patches at Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell Row.

For ecclesiastical purposes the ancient parish was
divided by the formation of the district of Buckhurst
Hill in 1838 and that of Chigwell Row in 1860. Both
these districts became separate ecclesiastical parishes in
1867. (fn. 3) Buckhurst Hill was made a separate urban
district in 1895. (fn. 4) Chigwell and Chigwell Row together constituted the civil parish of Chigwell from
1895 until 1933, when that parish was merged with the
Urban Districts of Buckhurst Hill and Loughton to
form the new Urban District of Chigwell. (fn. 5)

For several centuries the south-west end of the parish
and Chigwell Row have been predominantly residential, with houses occupied mainly by people with
interests in London, while the rest of the parish has
always been devoted to agriculture. Modern development has emphasized this contrast. Buckhurst Hill and
much of Chigwell Row have been built up but Chigwell
village has retained its rural appearance.

From the west bank of the Roding the ground rises
steeply from about 50 ft. to 267 ft. at Buckhurst Hill,
and then falls to about 150 ft. at Ching Brook, which
roughly defines the western boundary of the ancient
parish. On the east of the river the land rises to 213 ft.
in Chigwell village and then falls away to Chigwell
(formerly Edensor's) Brook, which flows south-west
from the centre of the parish to join the Roding near
Luxborough. South of the brook the land rises to
Grange Hill (235 ft.) and the ridge of Chigwell Row
(280 ft.). From these heights there are long views over
the Thames valley to the hills of Kent. Near the northeast boundary is Lambourne Brook, another tributary
of the Roding.

Chigwell was formerly in the
forest of Essex and two small
patches of woodland still exist
within the area of the ancient
parish. Lords Bushes at Buckhurst Hill cover 90 acres belonging to Epping Forest. At
Chigwell Row there are some
50 acres which form part of
Hainault Forest.

Figure 2:

Chigwell Urban District

Or, a stag at rest proper, on a cheif gules three axe-heads bendwise sinister with blades down-words argent. [Granted 1951.]

The main road from London
to Ongar, here called High
Road, passes north-east through
Chigwell village. From the village Roding Lane runs west to
Buckhurst Hill; near the lane on
the east bank of the river are the
R.A.F. Station, Chigwell, and the Buckhurst Hill
County High School for boys. The R.A.F. Station is
on the site of the ancient manor house of Chigwell Hall.
Beyond the river to the west Roding Lane passes a
public park and finally joins Palmerston Road, Buckhurst Hill.

Buckhurst Hill is a residential area developed mainly
during the past century. It consists of an inner ring on
both sides of the railway station, dating from about
1850-1900, with building to the north and south
mainly of 1920-39. From West Buckhurst Hill the
Loughton road and the Epping New Road run north,
the London road (via Woodford) runs south and the
Chingford road runs west.

From Chigwell village Vicarage Lane runs southeast to Chigwell Row. Half a mile north of the village
on the High Road are Rolls Park and the site of Barringtons (see Manors). Opposite Rolls the main road is
joined by the road leading from Loughton via Loughton
Bridge. North of Rolls the main road is called Abridge
Road. Half a mile north-east of Rolls, immediately
south of the Roding, is Woolston Hall (see Manors).
Pudding Lane and Gravel Lane run south from
Abridge Road near Woolston to Chigwell Row.

Half a mile south of Chigwell village High Road
joins Hainault Road which leads to Grange Hill, and
then via Fencepiece Road to Ilford. A mile south-west
of Chigwell, to the west of High Road is Great West
Hatch (see Manors) and near this on the opposite side
of the road is the Manor House (formerly the Bowling
Green, see Manors). Luxborough Lane, leading from
Great West Hatch north-west to Buckhurst Hill, takes
its name from an ancient manor in this area.

High Road leaves the parish just before reaching
Woodford Bridge. Manor Road, leading from Woodford Bridge to Chigwell Row enters the parish immediately to the south of the Manor House. Between
Manor Road and High Road at this point there is a
small built-up area dating mainly from about 1900.
There is recent ribbon-development farther east on
Manor Road before the junction with Hainault Road.
At Grange Hill there is a housing area of 1920-39, and
in Fencepiece Road there is some similar development
and also some houses built since 1945. To the east of
Grange Hill is the large Hainault housing estate built
since 1945 by the London County Council. Part of this
is in Chigwell Urban District, and part in the Boroughs
of Ilford and Dagenham. Other houses west of Chigwell Row are mostly modern. From Chigwell Row
Romford Road runs south-east to Romford and
Dagenham. Manor Road continues east of Chigwell
Row to Lambourne End as Lambourne Road.

Chigwell village, Chigwell Row, Gravel Lane, and
Pudding Lane contain a number of houses dating from
the 17th and 18th centuries, many of which are
described below.

The railway from London to Epping passes through
Buckhurst Hill, where there is a station. A loop line
from Woodford to Hainault, Newbury Park, and
Leytonstone branches east from the Epping line. There
are stations at Roding Valley (South Buckhurst Hill),
Chigwell (½ mile south of the village), and Grange Hill.
Hainault station, which serves the London County
Council estate, is just outside Chigwell parish. Both
these lines are now electrified and form part of the
Central London Line.

Before the 17th century the repair of the parish
roads was largely a matter of charity, and many bequests were made for this purpose, for example, those
of Cicely Rypton (1551) (fn. 6) and George Scott (1588). (fn. 7)
In 1592 the surveyors of Chigwell presented eight
parishioners at Quarter Sessions for refusing to do their
statute duty on the roads. (fn. 8) In 1682 the Woolston
manor court presented the surveyors themselves for
failing to repair a footbridge and threatened them with
a penalty of £5 if they failed in the future. (fn. 9)

The most important road in the parish in early times
was the London-Abridge road, which was also the
main road (via Theydon Bois) to Epping. This follows
closely the line of an old Roman road, passing near the
site of a Romano-British settlement near Woolston. (fn. 10)
The charity founded in 1557 and 1562 by Joan
Sympson for the repair of this road is described below
(see Charities). Her endowment was regularly used
for this purpose in the 16th and 17th centuries, (fn. 11) but
in spite of it ten rods of the road between Chigwell
village and Abridge were in a bad condition in 1647. (fn. 12)
From 1763 the road was maintained by the Middlesex
and Essex Highway Trust. (fn. 13) In 1866 the parish
resumed responsibility for the road. (fn. 14) In 1668 part of
the road between Chigwell and Abridge was diverted
near Rolls to enable the owner of that house, Sir Eliab
Harvey, to extend his grounds. (fn. 15)

It is remarkable that until 1890 there was no proper
road between Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill. Before
that there was only a track running from Luxborough
Lane, through the Roding and along Squirrels Lane,
which lay approximately on the line of the present
Lower Queen's Road, Buckhurst Hill. This track was
often obstructed. (fn. 16) A 'church way' from Buckhurst
Hill to the parish church at Chigwell existed in 1586.
As it included three stiles it was presumably a footpath. (fn. 17) The construction of a new road across the
Roding from Buckhurst Hill to Chigwell was discussed
by the parish vestry in 1855 and 1864. Nothing, however, was achieved until in 1890 the present Roding
Lane was opened. (fn. 18) Before this the people of Buckhurst Hill could only reach Chigwell, without fording
the river, by way of Woodford or by Loughton
Bridge.

Gravel Lane, (fn. 19) Pudding (formerly Patsalls) Lane, (fn. 20)
Vicarage Lane, (fn. 21) and Hainault Road (formerly Fortey
or Horn Lane) (fn. 22) all figure in records from early times.
They were all gated at the forest end to keep out stray
animals. (fn. 23) The gate house at the upper end of Hainault
Road still exists.

The road from Grange Hill to Ilford was not made
until 1833, and that from Chigwell Row to Romford
about 30 years earlier; both were paid for by public
subscription. (fn. 24) In the former case, however, a track
must previously have existed, for in 1662 Fortey
Lane was described as the road from Chigwell to
Barking. (fn. 25)

Manor Road undoubtedly replaced an ancient
track. (fn. 26) As late as 1817, however, it was held that it
was not a public highway because it was only a 'fair
weather road'. (fn. 27) Its extension from Chigwell Row to
Lambourne End (c. 1790) has been described under
Lambourne.

At Buckhurst Hill the Loughton-Woodford road is
of ancient origin. It became important early in the 17th
century when the road from Loughton to Epping
through the forest was completed, thus providing a
new direct route from London to Newmarket. (fn. 28) In
the 18th century it came under the control of the
Epping and Ongar Highway Trust, which about 1780
remade the section between Buckhurst Hill and
Loughton. (fn. 29) In 1834 the trust completed its new road
from Woodford to Epping, by-passing Loughton. (fn. 30)
A short stretch of this Epping New Road runs through
Buckhurst Hill.

The only other roads in Buckhurst Hill before the
19th century seem to have been a lane leading from
the 'Bald Faced Stag' to Langfords (now Westbury
Lane) and another, on the opposite side of the main
road, leading to Whitehall in Chingford (now Whitehall Lane). In 1791 and 1796 the parish resisted
magistrates' orders to repair the latter road. (fn. 31) Of the
newer roads in Buckhurst Hill Queens Road was taken
over by the parish in 1867, Princes Road and Victoria
Crescent in 1870, Victoria Road in 1881, and Alfred
Road, Albert Road, Gladstone Road, and Russell Road
in 1883. Kings Place Road was taken over in sections
in 1870, 1879, 1881, and 1883. (fn. 32)

The combined Domesday figures for Chigwell Hall
and Woolston give a total of 23 villeins, 4 bordars, and
8 freemen in 1066, to which a further 4 bordars had
been added by 1086. (fn. 33) In 1391 there were 72 houses
in the parish. There was a small concentration round
the church in Chigwell Street but most of the houses
were scattered throughout the parish. (fn. 34) They probably included most of those known to have existed in
the 15th century, among which were the following: (fn. 35)
Little Londons, Turnours, Martins (now Marchings),
Brownings, Serjeants, Birds, and Coles (now Taylors
Farm) in Gravel Lane; Billingsbourne in Millers Lane
(off Gravel Lane); Pettits and Barns alias Fulhams in
Pudding Lane; Appletons (now Old Farm) in Green
Lane (a track off Vicarage Lane); Tailours and the
manor house of Barringtons (later Rolls) in High Road,
and Woolston Hall off Abridge Road. At Chigwell
Row were Sheepcotes, near the Lambourne boundary,
Whitehall (formerly Gullivers) with Goodhouse and
Haywards near by, Skynners which later became the
'Maypole' and stood behind the site of the more recent
inn of the same name, Old Bennetts, Hatchmans, Pearsmiths, and Page Hall, all of which stood near the
present Hainault Hall, and Hatch House near the later
Clare Hall, with perhaps a dozen smaller houses. At
Grange Hill there was Grange Farm and in Hainault
Road, Elces (formerly Youngs). In Chigwell village a
few houses are known to have existed in the Middle
Ages, and in the 15th century there were probably
more than a dozen, including the Grange, Church
House, and Ringleys on the site of Grange Court.
Farther south in High Road there were houses at
Broomhill and West Hatch, Brookhouse Farm and the
old mansion at Luxborough. At Buckhurst Hill there
were a few houses in the 15th century, among them
King's Place and Monkhams.

Some of these houses have disappeared and the others
have been rebuilt or so much altered as to leave few
traces of their early origin. Among the oldest surviving
houses in the parish are the Retreat at Chigwell Row,
Woolston Hall (see Manors), Marchings, and Brownings, all of which date from the 16th or early 17th
centuries. Marchings is a two-story house, timberframed and roughcast. It was probably built early in
the 16th century but has been much altered. Brownings is a two-story building, also timber-framed and
roughcast, with an old tile roof. It has a front of three
gables, the centre one being much wider than the
others. The Retreat, now a café, was probably built
in the 16th century but only a small part of the present
building is original. There are old timbers inside.
Details of some Chigwell houses and their furnishings
in the 15th-17th centuries are contained in the printed
series 'Old Chigwell Wills'. (fn. 36)

In 1671 there were 168 houses and two forges in
the parish. (fn. 37) In addition to the houses already mentioned were Bacons (on the site of Montfort House),
Morgans (later Great House and now the Grove),
Wheelers alias Butlers Bennetts (now the Chace),
Langhall (now the Foxhounds), Taylors Hall (on the
site of Willow House), Clare Hall, Bowls, and some
cottages, all in Manor Road. In Pudding Lane Clark's
tenement (later Burnt House) had been built and in
Chigwell village there were houses on nearly all the
present sites. The original manor house of Chigwell
Hall had fallen into disuse after the building of a new
house near the church (see Manors). Existing houses
which in their present form date from the 17th century
are the 'King's Head', Chigwell School, Harsnetts,
Woodlands at Chigwell Row, the Foxhounds, Brookhouse Farm, Church House, Pettits Hall lodge,
Turnours and possibly Grange Court.

The 'King's Head' in Chigwell village was made
famous by Dickens in Barnaby Rudge, where it figures
as the 'Maypole'. It was an important inn. From 1713
and possibly earlier it was regularly used for meetings
of the Court of Attachments of Waltham Forest. (fn. 38) In
the 1850's it was a favourite resort of public authorities
banqueting at the public expense, and was famous for
pigeon pie. (fn. 39) The main part of the building is of three
stories with attics and cellars and exposed timberframing. Each upper story overhangs and there are
four various-sized gables. There is a large roughcast
chimney-stack with diagonal shafts. There have been
many alterations and additions to the building. The
Chester Room on the first floor has 17th-century
panelling.

The original part of Chigwell School was built soon
after the foundation of the school in 1629. (fn. 40) It is a
one-story building of red brick with an old tile roof.
There have been additions in the 18th century and
later. Harsnetts is a two-story building opposite the
school, now divided into two houses.

Woodlands, at Chigwell Row, is a two-story building, roughcast, with a tile roof and a rebuilt chimneystack of four shafts. The 'Fox and Hounds' consists of
two stories and attics and is of red brick. Brookhouse
Farm is a timber-framed and roughcast building having
an old tile roof and a central chimney-stack with six
diagonal shafts. Church House, though mainly of the
18th century, incorporates obvious remains of a 17thcentury building, including a chimney-stack. It is of
two stories, timber-framed, and roughcast. Pettits
Hall lodge is of similar construction, with a cross gable
overhanging to the right. (fn. 41) Turnours, on one of the
oldest sites in the parish, is particularly interesting. In
the entrance hall there is a fine 17th-century fireplace.
Late in the 19th century the house was encased in red
brick in Gothic style. Cloisters were built on the north
side and a chapel behind the house to the west. These
alterations were probably planned by Miss Ada Palmer.
The Palmers lived at Turnours from about 1860 to
about 1914. (fn. 42) Ada was a painter and sculptor and
many of her works are preserved in the house. During
the Second World War Turnours was used for military
purposes and a hutted camp was built in the fields to
the north-west. After the war the house was acquired
by Dr. N. Beattie of Ilford and maintained by him as
an International Youth Centre. (fn. 43) Grange Court,
which was remodelled in 1774 was probably built in
the late 17th or early 18th century. It is a large and
handsome three-story house with lower side wings, and
is built mainly of stock brick. It is now part of Chigwell
School.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries several
new houses were built in the parish and many old ones
greatly altered or completely rebuilt. Among those
which in their present form date from the 18th century
are Chigwell Lodge, Brook House, the stables at
Barton Friars (originally the stables to Grange Court),
Vine Cottage, and Tailours, in High Road, and Sheepcotes and Hainault Hall at Chigwell Row. Flint
Cottage, The Haylands, Little Haylands, and Belmont
Park, in High Road, are of the early 19th century.
Crosby House at Chigwell Row is an early-19th-century
remodelling of an 18th-century house. Great West
Hatch, New Barns in Luxborough Lane, and Barrington Lodge and Forest House at Chigwell Row were
entirely new houses built in the 18th century. Many
smaller houses also date from the 18th and earlier 19th
centuries. The old house at Luxborough was replaced
about 1720 by a large mansion, but this was demolished
about 1800. There was small-scale but continuous
new building throughout the parish and by 1851 there
were 396 houses of all sizes. (fn. 44)

The population of the parish was 1,351 in 1801.
By 1841 it had risen to 2,059. It declined slightly to
1,965 in 1851. (fn. 45) Between 1850 and 1870 Chigwell
Row was greatly changed by the inclosure and destruction of most of Hainault Forest (see Agriculture). At
Buckhurst Hill part of Epping Forest was inclosed and
some of it built over.

The rapid building at Buckhurst Hill was a result
of the extension of the railway from Woodford to
Loughton. By 1871 there were 1,080 houses in Chigwell parish, nearly all the increase being at Buckhurst
Hill. (fn. 46) The only other building of any importance had
been in Hainault Road. (fn. 47) By 1891 the number of
houses had increased to 1,271. (fn. 48) The population of
the parish rose to 6,324 in 1891 and 7,294 in 1901. (fn. 49)

It is interesting to compare the development of
Buckhurst Hill between 1851 and 1901 with that of
Loughton (q.v.). Both places were affected at the same
time by the coming of the railway and both were
involved in the controversy concerning the inclosure
of Epping Forest. (fn. 50) At Buckhurst Hill development
was much more rapid than at Loughton and was much
more concentrated round the railway station. Inclosures from the forest were much smaller at Buckhurst
Hill than at Loughton, mainly because Buckhurst Hill
had a smaller forest frontage, but most of the inclosures
at Buckhurst Hill were more quickly built over and
thus became exempt from the provisions of the Epping
Forest Act of 1878. Loughton's growth took place
within the framework of an ancient village. At Buckhurst Hill a new town sprang up on farm land and
forest.

Growth was much slower after 1901. The opening
of the Woodford-Ilford loop line in 1903 caused some
building in Chigwell village and at Grange Hill, and
there was also some development near Woodford
Bridge. In 1931 the total population was 8,948
(Buckhurst Hill U.D. 5,486; Chigwell C.P. 3,462).
Between 1931 and 1939 there was much new building, in Hainault Road, Manor Road, Forest Lane,
High Road, and in various parts of Buckhurst Hill,
especially at Monkhams. Shortly before 1939 Chigwell
lost one of its oldest houses, the Grange in High Road,
which was demolished after a fire. (fn. 51) It dated from the
15th century. (fn. 52)

Since 1945 restrictions have prevented large-scale
private building, and much of Chigwell has been
designated as a part of 'the Green Belt'. The new
Hainault estate, however, has added 1,900 houses to
the urban district since 1945. There has also been
some building of local council houses. The Grange
Farm Camp, Chigwell, opened in 1951, provides
large-scale facilities for camping, swimming, and many
other types of athletics (see also Charities). In 1953
the population of Chigwell Ward was estimated at
14,000 and that of Buckhurst Hill Ward at 12,000. (fn. 53)

There was a regular coach service from Chigwell to
the 'Blue Boar' at Aldgate from 1790. (fn. 54) In the 1820's
Mary Draper of the 'King's Head' ran a daily service
to Aldgate. (fn. 55) In 1840 a coach left the 'Maypole' at
Chigwell Row every morning, calling at the 'King's
Head' on its journey to the 'Three Nuns', Whitechapel, and returning by the same route in the evening. (fn. 56) In 1845 the Ongar coach to London also passed
the 'King's Head'. (fn. 57) William Powling kept a coach at
his house next to the 'Maypole' at Chigwell Row; from
1844 it ran from there to the 'King's Head' and back
to connect with the Ongar coach. (fn. 58) After his death in
1848 (fn. 59) his widow kept two coaches for some years, one
ran to London daily and the other to the newly opened
railway station at Ilford. (fn. 60) In 1858 these coaches were
taken over by William Claydon who in 1864 moved to
Vicarage Lane. (fn. 61) For many years before the building
of the Ilford loop a coach ran every morning and evening to Woodford station, the Ilford coach being discontinued. (fn. 62) Coaches owned by Nelson of the 'Bull',
Aldgate, ran to Chigwell Row until 1868. (fn. 63) In 1848
Henry Chipperfield ran a wagon three times a week
from Chigwell to London and John Wilton ran one
daily from Chigwell Row. (fn. 64) In 1878 William Claydon
ran a wagon to London four times a week. (fn. 65)

Before the building of the railways Buckhurst Hill
had many coaches passing through every day, to
London, Cambridge, Norwich, Bury St. Edmunds,
Dunmow, and elsewhere.

The Eastern Counties Railway extended its line
from Woodford to Loughton in 1856, with a station
at Buckhurst Hill. In 1903 the Ilford loop was
opened, with stations at Chigwell and Grange Hill. (fn. 66)
In 1937 a new station was opened at Roding Valley, on
this loop, to serve the southern part of Buckhurst Hill.

In 1839 there were postal receiving houses at Chigwell and Chigwell Row. (fn. 67) By 1863 there were two
post-offices at Chigwell, and sub-post-offices at Chigwell
Row and Buckhurst Hill. (fn. 68) By 1874 there was a telegraph office at Chigwell. (fn. 69) In 1886 there were two
post-offices at Buckhurst Hill, one of them having the
telegraph, and the Chigwell Row office also had the
telegraph. (fn. 70) The telephone was in use at Buckhurst
Hill by about 1906. (fn. 71) By 1922 there was a telephone
exchange in Chigwell village. (fn. 72)